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11 May 2015
Tony Abbott’s Mother’s Day `package’ delivers for most children and families
The Federal Government has delivered a better-than-expected ‘Jobs for Families’ package to
improve access and affordability, and reduce complexity, in our child care system.
On Mother’s Day, the Prime Minister announced the much-anticipated $3.5 billion package of
reforms to the child care system. The Government developed the package in response to a 2014
Productivity Commission inquiry into childcare and early childhood learning.
“This is a good package and it is more generous and better targeted than we had expected several
months ago,” said Mr Shane Lucas, CEO of ELAA.
“If it is implemented as planned in 2017, the package should improve affordability and access to
child care for many families, while also ensuring that the majority of low income and disadvantaged
families are protected by a proposed Child Care Safety Net.”
The Government announced that the principal component of the new, simplified child care
payment system – the Child Care Subsidy – will be means-tested and paid directly to approved early
childhood education and care providers.
“Anything that makes the current complex system fairer and simpler - we support,” Mr Lucas said.
“And if means-testing the new subsidy ensures that low income working families get more financial
help to place their children in quality early education and care - we support that too.”
ELAA members remain concerned about the impact on children of proposed changes to the activity
test that requires parents to undertake a certain amount of work or study each week to be eligible
for the new subsidy.
“We understand that the Government wants to encourage more parents to return to, or commence,
work or study – but we do not believe that children should be used as leverage to achieve that
outcome,” Mr Lucas said.
“The research supports our view that all children should have access to at least two days of quality
early learning, as this will improve their social and educational outcomes.
“The proposed activity test could mean that children from single income families or non-working or
casually employed parents might miss out on the subsidy altogether – and that we do not support.
“On balance, we welcome the ‘Jobs for Families’ package, but we really want Tony Abbott to
understand that quality early childhood education and care is of enormous benefit to all children.
“The investment all governments make in early learning is for tomorrow, not just today.”
Media contact: Shane Lucas, CEO, ELAA 0417 308 751 or 03 9489 3500